Continuing Coverage through COBRA

This section has important information about your right to COBRA continuation coverage, which is a temporary extension of coverage under the Plan.  This section explains COBRA continuation coverage, when it may become available to you and your family, and what you need to do to protect your right to get it. When you become eligible for COBRA, you may also become eligible for other coverage options that may cost less than COBRA continuation coverage.

The right to COBRA continuation coverage was created by a federal law, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA).  COBRA continuation coverage can become available to you and other members of your family when group health coverage would otherwise end. For more information about your rights and obligations under the Health Plan and under federal law, you should review this handbook or contact the Plan Administrator.

You may have other options available to you when you lose group health coverage. For example, you may be eligible to buy an individual plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace. By enrolling in coverage through the Marketplace, you may qualify for lower costs on your monthly premiums and lower out-of-pocket costs. Additionally, you may qualify for a 30-day special enrollment period for another group health plan for which you are eligible (such as a spouse’s plan), even if that plan generally doesn’t accept late enrollees.

COBRA continuation coverage is a continuation of Plan coverage when it would otherwise end because of a life or career event. This is also called a “qualifying event”. Specific life or career events are listed later in this section. After a life or career event, COBRA continuation coverage must be offered to each person who is a “qualified beneficiary.”  You, your spouse, and your dependent children could become qualified beneficiaries if coverage under the Health Plan is lost because of the life or career event. Under the Health Plan, qualified beneficiaries who elect COBRA continuation coverage must pay for COBRA continuation coverage.

If you are an employee of the Plan Sponsor (Boston University) covered by one of the medical options maintained by the University (the “Plan”), you will become a qualified beneficiary if you lose your group health coverage because either one of the following life or career events happens:

  • Your hours of employment are reduced, or
  • Your employment ends for any reason other than your gross misconduct.

If you are the spouse of an employee covered by the Health Plan, you will become a qualified beneficiary if you lose your coverage under the Health Plan because any one of the following life or career events happens:

  • Your spouse dies;
  • Your spouse’s employment ends for any reason other than his or her gross misconduct;
  • Your spouse’s hours of employment are reduced;
  • You become divorced or legally separated from your spouse; or
  • Your spouse becomes entitled to Medicare (under Part A, Part B, or both).

Your dependent children will become qualified beneficiaries if they lose coverage under the Health Plan because any one of the following life or career events happens:

  • The parent-employee dies;
  • The parent-employee’s hours of employment are reduced;
  • The parent-employee’s employment ends for any reason other than his or her gross misconduct;
  • The parents become divorced or legally separated;
  • The parent-employee becomes entitled to Medicare benefits (Part A, Part B, or both); or
  • The child ceases to be eligible for coverage under the Plan as a “dependent child.”

If You Have Questions

More complete information regarding your COBRA continuation coverage rights is available from the Plan Administrator. For more information about your rights under ERISA, including COBRA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and other laws affecting group health plans, contact the nearest Regional or District Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in your area or visit the EBSA website.  (Addresses and phone numbers of Regional and District EBSA Offices are available through EBSA’s website.)

Keep Your Plan Informed of Address Changes

In order to protect your family’s rights, you should keep Human Resources informed of any changes in the addresses of family members. You should also keep a copy, for your records, of any notices you send to the plan administrator.

Plan Contact Information

Human Resources
Boston University
25 Buick St, 2nd Fl
Boston, MA  02215
617-353-2380

COBRA  Administrator:
P&A Group
Dept. #652
P.O. Box 8000
Buffalo, NY  14267-8000
1-800-688-2611